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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22487761">A Little Trouble is Worth A Lot</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/theatrenerd21/pseuds/theatrenerd21'>theatrenerd21</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>All American Steve, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, I saw someone had Bucky obsessed with trashy magazines in a fic and I fell in Love with the concept, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Steve Rogers, Pining Tony Stark, Tutor Tony, so there's some of that, the gang's all here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:42:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22487761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/theatrenerd21/pseuds/theatrenerd21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony does not get in trouble anymore. He will not break any more rules. Except, Steve is so pretty, and he's only his tutor for one semester. And his friends don't help to discourage him from making bad decisions.</p>
<p>Tony is a programming tutor, and he's assigned to Steve for an intro class. Some mayhem ensues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Minor Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov - Relationship, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>137</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Little Trouble is Worth A Lot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony glanced at the doors as he strolled down the hall. <em>Room 6, Room 6.</em> He stared at his phone, the number burned in his memory. He was assigned a new student to tutor, which was always nice, but it was in a subject he hadn’t even glanced at in years. Intro Programming, topics he learned before he could talk. But of all the tutors, he was the resident computer genius. He circled the classrooms once more, their empty tables and blank whiteboards begging him to scribble over and make a mess like his workshop.</p>
<p>After probably 3 more rounds, he finally found Room 6 tucked in the corner, on the more hidden side of the building. Quite perfect actually if he ever wanted some peace and quiet. The athletes were loud, and more often than not obnoxious, and while he loved tutoring them, he couldn’t hang out with them. All of his friends had a certain…quiet disposition that the loud bumbling athletes seemed to lack. He settled in, pulling out his laptop and choosing to tinker on one of his AI programs while he waited. He glanced at his phone once more. <em>Steve Rogers, Intro Programming, Room 6, 4pm. </em>It was already 4:02, but he didn’t expect his student to show up until at least 5 after. They always seemed to be running behind when it came to tutoring sessions. He ignored the doorway, choosing instead to focus on his screen. Seconds later, a knock at the door had him looking up.</p>
<p>“Hi, sorry, are you Tony?” the guy said. He was a mythical god come to life, and Tony's seen plenty of statues and pictures from Thor’s books to have an accurate comparison.</p>
<p><em>Oh god, </em>Tony thought, <em>not good, very not good, </em>very<em> good body. </em>Steve, he presumed, was at least 6’2”, with muscles to spare and legs for miles. Tony wouldn’t necessarily call himself athletic. He worked out when he had time, which was almost never. But this guy put any effort he attempted to shame. He watched as golden hair flopped in Steve’s eyes, which pierced him with an astonishingly bright blue gaze that still maintained an innocent puppy dog appearance.</p>
<p>“Yes, sorry, you’re Steve?” he finally asked, snapping out of his trance. Steve flashed him the brightest smile he’d ever seen, with perfect straight, white teeth that could be in any toothpaste commercial.</p>
<p>“Yeah, thank you so much for tutoring me,” Steve said, throwing his backpack on the spare chair. Tony watched as the chair Steve chose miraculously didn’t break with the force of him collapsing in clear exhaustion.</p>
<p>“Of course, my pleasure, but are you sure you’re alright to have tutoring today?” Tony asked, his face pinched in concern. Steve shrugged as if it meant nothing that he seemed bone tired.</p>
<p>“No, I’m good, don’t worry, coach just works us really hard,” Steve said, stretching his arms above his head. Tony swallowed, glancing down at the slim patch of skin that revealed itself when Steve’s shirt rode up. Right, well, he was starting to feel worked very hard too. He cleared his throat and looked away, hoping that would steady him enough that they could get on with it. Tutoring, of course, even though his brain supplied other activities that would be much more enjoyable.</p>
<p>“So, what do you wanna work on?”</p>
<p>Tony found out that while Steve sure had enthusiasm, he didn’t quite have the natural talent for coding that Tony possessed. It was incredibly taxing on Tony’s part, and his patience was certainly put to the test. The man could barely tell a class from a method for Christ’s sake, how was he supposed to write a whole program himself?</p>
<p>After an hour of Tony prompting answers from Steve, only to receive an even more confused reply, he asked why Steve was even taking the class in the first place.</p>
<p>“Well, I want to be in the army, but first I wanted to get a degree, and I liked the idea of maybe cyber tech and whatnot. Might have to change my career path,” Steve laughed.</p>
<p>“We can always discuss that a different time, but right now I wanna focus on you passing this course,” Tony said, sighing internally. <em>Damn, that also means I won’t get to tutor you in any more courses. </em>He was really looking forward to spending more time with Steve. Of course, they had the rest of the semester, but absolutely nothing could happen between them while he was still Steve’s tutor. It was strictly, strictly against the rules. As Pepper always says, don’t get yourself in more trouble than you asked for.</p>
<p>“By the way, thank you again for tutoring me, I really appreciate it,” Steve said, turning his wide, happy puppy dog eyes on Tony.</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, I’m in so much trouble.</em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, how’s it goin with Mr. All American?” Rhodey asked a few weeks later, after Tony came back from a particularly frustrating session.</p>
<p>“Don’t, I don’t need any more stress on my patience today,” Tony groaned, throwing himself in his favorite armchair and closing his eyes. Pepper shifted her eyes over to them momentarily from her book, muttering “boys” under her breath.</p>
<p>After many tutoring sessions and way too many coffees, Steve seemed to destroy every stereotype Tony had about athletes. He was quiet for one, almost shy, and he was nervous a lot about getting the answer right. And he was smart, just not in computer science necessarily. Tony asked once to see what else Steve studied, and he showed him parts of his sketchbook. He was almost hesitant, like he didn’t want Tony to judge him harshly, but every single drawing Tony saw took his breath away. Steve was talented, like <em>crazy</em> talented, and it didn’t help his heart that he was unbelievably kind too. A man who was soft on the inside with rock hard abs on the outside? Tony was gone before he could even blink.</p>
<p>“Oh c’mon, captain of the football team, homecoming king, those baby blues, no wonder you’re head over heels,” Rhodey said, elbowing Tony to get his attention. He glared at his best friend.</p>
<p>“I’m not head over heels,” Tony insisted, sounding weak even to his ears. He grabbed a transistor from the top of his backpack to fiddle with while he avoided Rhodey’s gaze. “I just think his ass is nice.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, and his face, and his laugh, and everything about him.”</p>
<p>“It’s true, you never shut up about him,” Pepper added, without even a glance in their direction.</p>
<p>Bruce chose that moment to drift into the common room, distracted by something on his tablet.</p>
<p>“Bruce! Brucie bear! Come defend my honor from these morons,” Tony called.</p>
<p>“If this is about Steve, I will not hear one more comment about his appearance or personality,” Bruce replied, eyes glued to his screen. He maneuvered himself to the couch, pushing Rhodey to the side. “My research on organism mutation is almost done, and I will not be distracted by your schemes, Tony.”</p>
<p>“This is ridiculous, none of my friends are on my side,” Tony complained. “I don’t like him, and I don’t talk about him <em>that </em>much. Besides, you’re the ones always saying don’t get myself in trouble, and I think dating a student of mine is very much asking for trouble.”</p>
<p>“Doesn’t mean you can’t be quiet about it,” Rhodey said, “it just requires more clandestine meetups. Ooh, a forbidden romance, that could be interesting.”</p>
<p>“Don’t encourage him, please,” Pepper sighed, finally looking up from her book. “Tony does not need to get in any more trouble this year. The dean is still pissed about him blowing up the lab, and not even Howard Stark’s money can make a school scandal with the football captain go away.”</p>
<p>Tony scowled at her, even though he loved her dearly. Sometimes, he wished they had worked out as a couple, but it turns out Pepper can only handle so much of Tony’s bullshit, and Tony wasn’t willing to compromise his, often dangerous, work.</p>
<p>“I did not blow up the lab, I only caused a minor explosion in the far wing,” he said. “No one was around, and that place was gathering dust before I got here anyways.”</p>
<p>“Not what Dean Coulson said, and I doubt he’ll be so generous next time you fuck up,” Pepper said, leveling Tony with a look that could cut glass. “Stay out of trouble, at least for the rest of the semester.”</p>
<p>“Yes mother,” Tony promised, rolling his eyes at her. “Speaking of trouble, where is that lovely girlfriend of yours? Shouldn’t she be here making fun of us for not living our college lives to the fullest or whatever?”</p>
<p>“Natasha is studying for her history exam,” Pepper sniffed. “And she said she was sorry for not inviting you to the Halloween party. She could only have a few people over, and the people who called her a ninja for her silence were not at the top of her list.”</p>
<p>“And yet, Sam Wilson, pilot extraordinaire, was invited, even though he barely knows her,” Rhodey complained.</p>
<p>“They have many classes together and multiple mutual friends,” Pepper argued, glaring at Rhodey. “Which, did I mention, includes Tony’s boy toy?”</p>
<p>“What?” Tony snapped his head up from his laptop, which he grabbed somewhere in the middle of their argument. “Why didn’t you tell me? More to the point, why didn’t you get me invited?”</p>
<p>“Because you hadn’t told us about Steve at Halloween, and I thought we agreed you were staying out of trouble, which means avoiding interactions with Steve outside of tutoring,” Pepper stated matter-of-factly. Tony grumbled in reluctant agreement.</p>
<p>“Oooh, invite her and her study group over here! And tell her to bring Steve,” Rhodey suggested, throwing a conspiratorial grin at Tony.</p>
<p>“Absolutely not, you’ll distract them from studying, and Tony won’t get any work done himself,” Pepper threw back. “Besides, I don’t even know if he’s in her study group.”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright, which Tsar of Russia was forced to abdicate in response to the Russian revolution?” Steve asked, watching as Natasha’s face remained a blank mask, with the only indication she was thinking being a twitch of her eyebrow.</p>
<p>“Tsar Nicholas II,” she answered, her concentration smoothing over into a brief smile.</p>
<p>“Correct,” Steve said, smiling back.</p>
<p>“Can we take a snack break?” Bucky asked from his upside-down position on the couch.</p>
<p>“You’ve done like zero work, you should get us snacks,” Sam groaned, rubbing his head as if that would make the information absorb faster.</p>
<p>“I’ve done work, I found out Kourtney might leave Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which is very important in modern history,” Bucky argued, waving his ridiculously colorful magazine.</p>
<p>“Your trash taste in reading is not gonna be on the exam tomorrow,” Sam shot back, throwing a wad of scrap paper at his head.</p>
<p>“Hey! You never know when such information could become useful,” Bucky said, throwing the paper back along with an eraser.</p>
<p>“Guys, stop throwing school supplies,” Steve sighed, grabbing the paper and neatly tossing it in the recycling bin. “We need to focus.”</p>
<p>“Oh, are you suddenly more interested in school Stevie? Does this have to do with a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist?” Bucky smirked, while Steve just frowned at him.</p>
<p>“I have always been interested in school, that’s why I’m here, Bucky,” Steve replied tightly, pursing his lips in a fine line. “And don’t call him that. He’s not a playboy.”</p>
<p>“Right, and this has nothing to do with you studying way harder to get better grades in order to impress someone? Someone very specific?”</p>
<p>“C’mon Buck, leave him alone, he’s obviously not ready to confront his feelings,” Sam joked, earning a glare from Steve.</p>
<p>“Thanks, but I’m more interested in not getting <em>kicked off the team</em>,” Steve said, his frustration building. “Tony and I are just friends, I mean we’re barely friends, he’s just my tutor.”</p>
<p>“Not what you told me last time you talked about him, which is every hour of every day,” Sam said, raising one eyebrow as if to challenge Steve to disagree. He was technically right, Steve guessed, but it was only because Tony was so nice to help him with his computer science course. He liked to mention that Tony was incredibly smart, and if that meant also raising his own intelligence level to try and compete with Tony’s friends, well that was just another perk to tutoring.</p>
<p>“Besides, no way Coach Fury would kick you off the team,” Bucky added. “You’re his star player, his ticket back to coach stardom or whatever shit he’s spewing nowadays.”</p>
<p>“Well, it doesn’t matter, because nothing is going to happen between me and Tony,” Steve said, failing to hold back a sigh of disappointment. Tony was quite attractive, with his slender frame and his ever curious eyes. Steve would jump at the chance to ask him out, but he didn’t think Tony would go out with someone like Steve who was average intelligence at best, and just plain stupid at worst, especially when it came to what Tony’s studying. Steve had glanced at Tony’s laptop once in a while, and he saw multiple programs running in the background with equations he couldn’t read correctly, let alone understand. And not to even mention his ass, which almost killed Steve on site the first time Tony had bent down to grab his charger. It was round and perky and goddamnit if Steve didn’t have incredibly inappropriate thoughts about grabbing it during half of their sessions.</p>
<p>“If you want, I can invite Pepper and the crew over for a late night study group, I can almost guarantee Tony is with them,” Natasha offered, typing on her phone during their impromptu break, which was strictly not allowed during study times.</p>
<p>“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Steve said, with great reluctance. He had just seen Tony that night, and he made him angrier than usual. Steve had a huge project coming up, and there were so many different parts that he just felt confused every time he even looked at the assignment. Tony had tried to break it down for him, but there’s only so much you can do for someone who truly doesn’t understand the subject.</p>
<p>“C’mon Steve, it’s not that late, no way Fury could prevent you from studying with friends, and if that happens to include your very hot tutor, then so be it,” Bucky reasoned.</p>
<p>“Gee, you’re such a great influence,” Steve deadpanned, trying not to smile when Bucky grinned and gave him a thumbs up.</p>
<p>“I live to break the rules, baby” Bucky said, raising his arms as high as he could while still lying upside-down.</p>
<p>“Okay, but if there are more people coming, we should definitely get food,” Sam suggested. That got Bucky’s attention, and he shot up from his position on the couch to be right side up once again. He grimaced at the rush of blood, but blinked it away quickly to beam at Sam.</p>
<p>“You finally agree with my ideas, Sammy,” Buck said, throwing an arm over Sam’s shoulder. He grunted and threw the arm off, but not without smiling and rolling his eyes. “What’s closest and still open? McDonald’s? Anyone craving a thousand chicken nuggets and enough fries to drown us all?”</p>
<p>“Don’t forget the honey mustard,” Natasha chimed in, throwing some cash at the two boys.</p>
<p>“Not gonna happen, BBQ sauce only in these woods,” Bucky replied, collecting the money while Natasha threw them the finger.</p>
<p>“Should we get enough to feed like 10 people?” Sam asked.</p>
<p>“Pepper says it’s her, Tony, Rhodey, and Bruce studying right now, but I would still aim for 10,” Natasha said, reading off of her phone. “God knows you and Steve can eat as much as 3 people each.”</p>
<p>“Wait, are we really inviting them over?” Steve asked, panic beginning to set in his chest and crawl up his throat.</p>
<p>“Sure, I mean, our exam isn’t until tomorrow evening, and Pepper would tell me if they needed to go to bed early,” Natasha shrugged.</p>
<p>“Ooh see if Thor and Clint are up! We can really get this party goin,” Bucky said.</p>
<p>“This is not a party, it’s a Thursday for goodness sakes,” Steve reminded them. “And we’re supposed to be studying.”</p>
<p>“No one’s saying we can’t do both,” Bucky said, wiggling his eyebrows. Steve groaned and rested his head in his hands. This was gonna be a long night.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, not happening, I am not going to see Steve at this god-awful hour,” Tony whined. As much as he wanted to see his favorite student, Steve was still his <em>student</em>, and anything involving them outside of tutoring was a bad idea.</p>
<p>“Tony, it’s 10pm, I’ve seen you go to bed at 4am when you have an 8am exam,” Rhodey argued, dragging Tony to his feet. “You gotta support Pep, and her wonderful girlfriend who brings us her attractive friends.”</p>
<p>“Natasha said Thor and Clint are coming over too, they don’t have early classes tomorrow and they weren’t about to miss out on the fun,” Pepper informed them. Tony whined in a pitiful tone, which he would be embarrassed about if he could feel embarrassment around these people anymore.</p>
<p>“Tony, c’mon, Thanksgiving break is in like a week, you don’t actually have super important assignments coming up, and the assignments that you do have you already finished like a month ago, I know it,” Bruce said, for once actually joining them in their late night adventures.</p>
<p>“You only wanna go because they said they’re grabbing McDonald’s for all of us,” Tony grumbled, even if his stomach also agreed with this argument.</p>
<p>“Which is a fantastic reason to go on top of all the other great reasons,” Rhodey insisted. Tony stopped actively resisting, but he made Rhodey pull him along like a toddler who doesn’t want to take his nap. “You’re telling me you don’t wanna see this Greek god who you have yet to introduce me to.”</p>
<p>“No, I don’t, because I don’t want to lose my job,” Tony once again reminded them. “I’m not allowed to even socialize platonically with my students, this is very against the rules.”<br/>“Oh for God’s sake Tony, when have you ever obeyed the rules?” Pepper rolled her eyes, choosing to keep her head forward in the direction of the athlete’s dorms. The others followed close behind her. It wasn’t cold, per se, but it was definitely on the chillier side. Fall was well underway, and the temperatures had been dipping lower and lower the past few days. Tony had changed into his comfy clothes, an old pair of sweatpants and his favorite hoodie, when he had thought they were staying <em>inside </em>for the night. And he didn’t have time to change between all the pulling and dragging from Rhodey. He just hoped Steve wouldn’t be disappointed he wasn’t in his typical, not tattered clothes. He shook his head at himself. Steve couldn’t be disappointed in something he wasn’t expecting in the first place.</p>
<p>They reached the door, where Natasha stood behind the glass, stoic as ever. She allowed the tiniest hint of a smile when she saw Pepper, and graciously let them in without commenting on their attire. Maybe clothes didn’t matter to some people, but they mattered a hell of a lot to Tony. He was grateful for the small things.</p>
<p>“Sam and Bucky went to get the food, they should be back in a couple minutes,” Natasha said, grabbing Pepper's hand and leading them to a larger room similar to their own common room. Thor and Clint were already there, arguing with Steve about some fighting technique that supposedly could be helpful in football. They all looked up when Natasha entered the room, but only Steve’s eyes stayed in their direction when the rest of them followed. When he saw Tony, and took in Tony’s appearance, his eyes widened a fraction of an inch, and Tony almost squirmed under the intensity.</p>
<p>“Boys, you know Pepper, this is James and Tony,” Natasha introduced them, waving a hand in their general direction. “This is Thor, Clint, and Steve.”</p>
<p>“Please, call me Rhodey,” Rhodey beamed, sliding in next to Clint on the couch.</p>
<p>“Might wanna watch, if you take Bucky’s seat while he’s gone, he’ll inevitably fight you for it,” Steve said, smiling at them. At Tony. Very much at Tony. It was like a moth to a flame, how Tony seemed to naturally gravitate towards him. He rested on the arm of the chair, hesitantly smiling and nodding towards Steve’s notes.</p>
<p>“Studying for history exam then?” he asked, for once in his life quieted by the intimacy of a small shared space.</p>
<p>“Yeah, working through it slowly,” Steve chuckled, glancing down at the paper in his lap. “Guess I’ll have to pick it up tomorrow, they don’t seem very keen on studying anymore tonight.” He nodded at Clint and Rhodey, who had picked up controllers and were starting an intense game of Mario Kart. Natasha and Pepper were curled up together on the other armchair, Natasha running her hands through Pepper’s hair and softly talking to her about whatever the boys had gotten into lately. Even Thor and Bruce seemed engrossed in their own conversation, talking about how mythical beings could have been mutated forms of basic creatures. Tony laughed, feeling light and happy that his friends so easily blended with Natasha’s friends. His hand drifted towards Steve unconsciously, brushing up against his arm. They both startled before settling in roughly the same position, this time purposefully leaning in each other’s space. Tony couldn’t look away from those bright blue eyes if a nuclear explosion happened outside. Steve smiled, shy and hesitant, but certainly hopeful.</p>
<p>“We’re back, you trolls!” Bucky exclaimed, running into the common room with multiple bags of food. Tony and Steve jumped apart, and they avoided eye contact as Sam passed around cartons of nuggets and burgers, dumping a heap of fries on the table in the middle. Clint immediately grabbed a handful of fries, shoving them in his mouth as fast as possible to keep from delaying his game. Tony saw him breathing exaggeratedly fast, trying to cool the still very hot fries that were already in his mouth like a dragon. He snickered, which stopped when Clint managed to throw a cheeseburger right at Tony without looking away from the game. He shrugged and accepted the free food because, hey, flying food is always a good thing. Steve grabbed a box of nuggets for himself, offering some to Tony before inhaling 3 in quick succession.</p>
<p>“Slow down buddy, you’ll get sick if you eat that fast,” Tony warned, smiling when Steve waved him off carelessly.</p>
<p>“I have an incredibly cooperative digestive system,” Steve stated, grabbing some fries from the table. “I can eat whatever as long as I keep up my exercise regime.”</p>
<p>“Must be nice, being one of the special elite who don’t have to worry about weight gain,” Tony teased, gently nudging his shoulder. Steve blushed, which was much cuter than it really deserved to be, and he mumbled something about being little that Tony didn’t catch and asked to clarify.</p>
<p>“I used to be really little, before I hit puberty, which was crazy late. I had practically no muscle, I was probably somewhere around 5’4”, and I was super skinny because of a naturally high metabolism. I don’t think it’s gotten any faster or slower, but the muscle mass and the calories I eat definitely help keep me at a normal size, I suppose.” Steve shrugged, as if it were nothing that he was just some huge guy with phenomenal muscles and a heart of gold to boot. Tony cursed himself, because really, he came here to convince himself out of this ridiculous crush, not fall further into it.</p>
<p>“Well, you obviously must be doing something right,” Tony said. “You know, the school loves you, and you are really smart.”</p>
<p>Steve laughed. “Just not at programming, where it counts,” he said, watching as Tony tried to think of some contradiction.</p>
<p>“I mean, you’re not so bad,” Tony offered, trying to smile behind an obvious lie. Steve stared at him before absolutely losing it, laughing at both Tony’s expression and his utter lack of computer knowledge.</p>
<p>“Really, it’s alright, I really appreciate you trying to help, but I think I might be a lost case when it comes to computer science,” Steve eventually conceded, wiping tears from his eyes. Tony shook his head, trying not to smile and failing.</p>
<p>“It just takes time sometimes, I’m free to help you outside of our official tutoring lessons if you want, we can even grab dinner and make a date of it,” Tony suggested, before realizing what he said and freezing on the spot. Steve blinked and opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. It looked like he couldn’t quite think of what to say, and his brow furrowed as if he was trying to find the nicest way to let Tony down. Tony, meanwhile, stuttered something about the bathroom, before he threw himself off the armchair and towards the hallway that he assumed probably eventually led to a bathroom. Steve remained glued to his seat, gaping like a fish, and when Tony looked back at the last second, he was staring at the floor. Tony cringed to himself and thought, <em>God, I really know how to pick em.</em></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Tony had run off somewhere, saying he needed a bathroom, even though Steve was pretty sure he had never been here before and had no idea where the bathrooms were. Steve was still trying to think through what happened, because he really didn’t know himself. One second, he was arguing with Thor and Clint about usual stuff, and the next Tony waltzed in the room in sweatpants that clung to his hips and, as later discovered, his ass. And then he sat on the armchair with that very ass right next to Steve, and he had to pretend he didn’t notice it there every single millisecond, which was incredibly difficult and very energy-consuming, especially when Tony looked at him with warm brown eyes that dug into his <em>soul</em>. And then, conversation happened, and Tony had made him laugh, and he made Tony laugh, and then all of a sudden it felt very much like Tony asked him on a date, a real date, but right after that, Tony sprinted away. Steve frowned, more than a little disappointed in himself for not holding onto Tony so he could tell him he’d love to meet with him outside of tutoring. Someone slid onto the opposite armrest, the one Tony wasn’t on, and when he looked over, he was met face to face with Pepper Potts.</p>
<p>“Hello Steve, I don’t know if we’ve properly met, I’m Pepper, Natasha’s girlfriend,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. Steve nodded, still a little caught up in his own mind to put together an answer. “I thought you should know that Tony has never been here before, and definitely doesn’t know where the bathroom is, and if you want to prevent him from being lost in this maze of a dorm, you should go after him.” She nudged him forward, enough to propel him out of his seat as her words sank in. “I do believe Tony is quite smitten with you, though he would absolutely kill me if he heard me say it. And I know you can’t date right now, while you’re still his student, but I was hoping maybe you could be inspired to pursue him, possibly at the end of the semester.” She raised an eyebrow, as if she didn’t already know the answer. Steve nodded again, swallowing before looking in the direction Tony had run off.</p>
<p>“You should go dude, he won’t wait forever, and he probably thinks you’re freaked out, and then he’ll freak out, and then he’ll leave,” Sam said, giving him a look that said if he didn’t move it he’d regret it. And oh boy, Steve knew he would most certainly regret it if he didn’t tell Tony how he felt immediately. He felt a little push from Pepper, and that was all he needed before he was off down the same hallway Tony had disappeared.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The halls weren’t terribly complicated. It’s just one long hallway, but it still took Steve a good 5 minutes to find him. Tony had somehow circled all the way around, but he couldn’t find the right hallway that would take him to the exit. That’s where Steve found him, spinning in circles and obviously trying not to scream in frustration.</p>
<p>“Hey, you took off,” Steve said, as softly as he could, but Tony still jumped a mile in the air before whipping around to face him.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah, well,” he stuttered, and honestly, Steve could not find him any cuter than right at this moment. “Your dorm is very confusing, I tried to find the bathrooms and I couldn’t find them anywhere and then I wanted to run back to my own dorm where I knew there would be a bathroom and then I couldn’t find a door out I mean you don’t have the exits clearly marked, and that’s totally a fire safety hazard, I feel like you should report it to your coach or even the dean I mean that seems like something that ought to be fixed right away-“</p>
<p>Steve grabbed Tony’s waist and pulled him gently towards him with one arm, cupping his cheek with the other. Tony sputtered and looked wildly around until Steve guided his chin to face him, and he saw it in Tony’s eyes. He was terrified, and excited, and very, very hopeful. So was Steve.</p>
<p>He leaned down, tilting his head to the side to capture Tony’s lips in his, finally. Tony responded beautifully, wrapping his arms around Steve’s shoulders for leverage and reaching up to tangle his hands in his hair. He gave as good as he had, and Steve tried his best to keep up. But the truth was, Tony was turning him into jello, and even though Steve was bigger, it felt like Tony was the one holding them up. He nipped at Steve’s lips, smoothing them over with his tongue, and Steve was absolutely helpless against his efforts. Somehow, he had backed up, and now was pressed against the wall, which offered a very solid base to steady himself as Tony slotted one leg between Steve’s. He felt Tony’s hands roaming over his chest, slipping under his shirt, which drew a moan from Steve who immediately responded by sliding his hands over Tony’s ass. It was just as round and perky as it looked, and in these sweatpants, it was <em>sinful</em> how good he looked. Tony jerked forward, and Steve felt more than heard him whimper into his mouth. Tony slid his lips down, kissing and sucking at Steve’s neck until he couldn’t breathe from how aroused he was.</p>
<p>“Jesus, Tony,” he panted. He let his eyes close as Tony sucked at his pulse point right below his ear that made more blood rush from his brain to his-</p>
<p>“Oh god, why are you in the middle of the hallway?” Clint yelled. Tony jumped away in surprise before sliding quickly back to Steve to hide both of their erections.</p>
<p>“We weren’t disturbing anyone,” Tony scoffed, the effect diminished by the blush that grew up his neck and, Steve assumed, down further. He absentmindedly traced Tony’s pant line, where his shirt had ridden up to expose just a bit of his hipbones.</p>
<p>“You’re certainly disturbing me, stop that! I’m right in front of you!” Clint screeched, throwing his hands in the air and storming back through the doorway to the common room.</p>
<p>When he left, Tony slid his arms back around Steve and looked up to him with a smile.</p>
<p>“So, I was thinking we should maybe talk about this? And keep it between us, at least until the end of the semester?” Tony suggested, raising his eyebrows as if asking if that were okay.</p>
<p>“Yeah, of course, I don’t want you to get in trouble or anything,” Steve agreed immediately. “But, I don’t know if I can keep my hands off of you during tutoring anymore.” He traced lines down Tony’s spine, feeling him shiver.</p>
<p>“Only if you promise to study and work to get an A,” Tony breathed heavily, already nosing at Steve’s jaw and making it difficult to concentrate.</p>
<p>“B+,” he replied through a very foggy brain. Tony left a trail of kisses up Steve’s face, humming in agreement.</p>
<p>“Deal,” he whispered, pressing his lips against Steve’s, where they fit perfectly.</p>
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